Global gold demand rose last year to its highest level since 2011.

This is reported by the industry organization World Gold Council (WGC) in its annual report, which is available to the FAZ in advance.

Christian Siedenbiedel

Editor in Business.

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Accordingly, the gold demand rose by 18 percent to 4740.7 tons of gold.

Analyst Louise Street said in an interview with the FAZ that the biggest increase was in the central banks' gold purchases.

Many of them have significantly increased their gold holdings, including the central bank of Turkey.

But the central banks have also bought gold in the oil-producing countries of the Middle East, as well as in India and China.

Overall, central bank demand for gold rose by a whopping 152 percent to 1,135.7 tons last year.

Inflation increases interest in bars and coins

That was a new 55-year high, according to the Council.

It is not known how much Russia has increased or decreased its gold holdings, Street said.

The country has not reported any data since the beginning of the war.

Demand for gold from jewelery production declined slightly.

It fell by 2 percent to 2189.8 tons.

Gold demand for the manufacture of technical devices also fell, by 7 percent to 308.5 tons.

In the case of gold for investments, however, the development was split.

Securities on gold, so-called "paper gold", internationally often ETFs, recorded outflows due to rising interest rates, which made other forms of investment more attractive than gold without interest.

However, this apparently did not apply to the purchase of physical gold, i.e. bars and coins.

Demand for them increased by 2 percent to 1217.1 tons.

"Gold bars and coins continued to be popular with investors in several countries around the world," reports the WGC.

Total investment in bars and coins in Europe has exceeded 300 tons.

The "persistently robust German demand" once again played an important role, said Street.

Significantly more bars and coins were also bought in the Middle East than in the previous year, where the high oil prices made revenues soar, with demand rising by 42 percent.

This has increased the overall demand for gold for investment purposes.

"Rising interest rates prompted tactical outflows from exchange-traded funds - while high inflation spurred investment in bullion and coins," reports the Council.

However, the organization believes that this could possibly be reversed this year: If inflation should fall over the course of the year, interest in gold bars and coins could fall – on the other hand, a slowing pace of interest rate hikes by central banks could have a positive effect on demand for gold ETFs .